Professional librarian interview

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Professional librarian interview

Sandra Findley

February 17, 2012

LI801XR: Foundations of Library and Information Science Professor Dow

Emporia State University

Professional librarian interview

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I interviewed Jason Alexander who is the Electronic Resources Librarian for CARL (Combined Arms Research Library) located in Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Jason received his MLS from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His bachelors degree was in history. He also earned a supervisory certificate through continuing education credits from KCMLIN. Jason said that the combination of his education as well as his 18 years of real world experience from working in academic and public libraries prepared him for his current position. That statement from Jason correlates with our textbook where Rubin discusses how knowledge is gained through practice: An organized approach to learning from experience both individually and collectively, thus growing new knowledge from the context of practice (p. 103). Next, Jason and I discussed his daily tasks. He said that he is the database manager and webmaster for the library. He runs a day end report that uploads new users to OCLC. As part of the social media aspect of his position, he researches current topics of the day to tweet about and post on Facebook. He also prepares the daily blogs for his librarys website. He is currently doing a webpage redesign to update the librarys website while consolidating and making it fit into the new web standards the Army has set forth. In addition, he maintains MARC records for the catalog. As part of the IMO (Information Management Office), he provides reference assistance to the staff as well as students on technical issues that arise during the day. Jason said that his previous day-to-day activities of working in an urban setting prepared him for working with the diverse population that he currently encounters at CARL. He told me that students (soldiers) stationed in Ft. Leavenworth are from all over countries such as France, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, Guam, China, Iraq, and Spain. He also said that his previous experience as the library director of the United States Disciplinary Barracks (the Ft. Leavenworth prison) provided him with on-the-job training to become familiarized with military standards and

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practices. At the prison library, Jason was the sole librarian. There was no other staff on hand so five inmates, selected by Jason, were allowed to work in the library. There was a rotation of 15 soldiers (guards) to assist watching the inmates who used the library. Because of the dangerous situation of being around prisoners, Jason had to carry a gun in the library. He had to go through the Army Corrections Brigade Correctional Academy training. The training was one and a half months long, eight hours per day, and consisted of tear gas training, self-defense techniques, certification to shoot a firearm, and he had to obtain a permit for conceal and carry. Jason belongs to several professional organizations such as ALA (American Libraries Association), KLA (Kansas Libraries Association), SLA (Special Libraries Association), and the MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation). He believes that professional organization activities are good for team building and a good way to network as well as meet new people. In addition, they are a great way to learn new techniques that are used across a wide variety of areas. Even though my current goal is to be a reference librarian, I chose to interview someone from a type of library I was unfamiliar with. I currently work in an academic library so Im privileged to see what our reference librarians do every day. Ive also been fortunate to have worked in school library and public library settings. Jason and I used to work together at an academic library. Weve remained friends, and Im always fascinated by his stories of his current job. It makes me think about pursuing other avenues beside reference. At least I have a couple of more years to decide.

References Rubin, Richard E. (2010). Foundations of Library and Information Science (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.